Elder care cost statistics, 2025: national medians and state tables
Every figure on this page is a published median, not an average of listings and not an estimate. The cost numbers come from CareScout’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey; the surrounding figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau, the national health spending accounts and Medicare.gov. Each one is shown with its publisher, so you can quote it and let a reader check it.
Last updated: October 10, 2026
Data: CareScout Cost of Care Survey — 2025 national medians
Data: CareScout Cost of Care Survey — 2025 national medians — fieldwork July–November 2025. State medians are as published in the same survey.
Key figures for 2025
One line each, safe to lift straight into an article.
- The 2025 national median rate for a non-medical in-home caregiver is $35 an hour, up 3% from $34 in 2024.
- At the survey's own assumption of 44 hours a week, in-home care costs $80,080 a year — $6,673 a month.
- Assisted living has a national median of $6,200 a month, or $74,400 a year, and posted the largest increase of any care type: 5%.
- A semi-private nursing home room has a national median of $9,581 a month — $315 a day, or $114,975 a year.
- A private nursing home room has a national median of $10,798 a month — $355 a day, or $129,575 a year.
- Adult day health care is the only care type that fell: $95 a day in 2025, down 5% from $100. It is also the cheapest setting per month at $2,058.
- Skilled nursing in the home (a private duty nurse) is the most expensive hourly rate in the survey at $90 an hour, and CareScout publishes no prior-year comparison for it.
- Assisted living costs almost three times as much in the most expensive state as in the least: $12,096 a month in Hawaii against $4,369 in Mississippi.
- Alaska is the most expensive state for a semi-private nursing home room at $27,831 a month — almost three times the national median — and Texas the least at $5,627.
- In-home care is cheapest in Mississippi at $4,576 a month and most expensive in Wyoming at $8,771.
- 55.8 million Americans were age 65 or over at the 2020 Census, a 38.6% increase in ten years, and one in six people was in that age group.
- National health spending reached $5.3 trillion in 2024 — $15,474 per person, or 18.0% of GDP.
- Medicare does not pay for long-term custodial care: Medicare.gov states plainly that "Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care," so those costs come from income, savings, insurance or Medicaid.
How much does long-term care cost in the United States?
National medians from the 2025 Cost of Care Survey, with the same survey’s prior-year column and the change the survey itself reports.
| Care type | 2025 national median | Monthly | Annual | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-medical caregiver (in-home)annual figure assumes 44 hours a week for 52 weeks | $35 per hour | $6,673 | $80,080 | $34 per hour | +3% |
| Adult day health careannual figure assumes 260 days of attendance a year | $95 per day | $2,058 | $24,700 | $100 per day | −5% |
| Assisted living communitymonthly rate as published; private, one-bedroom | $6,200 per month | $6,200 | $74,400 | $5,900 per month | +5% |
| Nursing home — semi-private roomnursing homes bill 365 days a year | $315 per day | $9,581 | $114,975 | $9,277 per month | +3% |
| Nursing home — private roomnursing homes bill 365 days a year | $355 per day | $10,798 | $129,575 | $10,646 per month | +1% |
| Skilled nursing in the home (private duty nurse)a clinical service with a different pricing basis; no state table in this survey | $90 per hour | N/A | N/A | Not published | Not published |
Publisher: CareScout, Cost of Care Survey (fieldwork July through November 2025). Monthly figures are the survey’s own: annual rate divided by twelve, with nursing homes billed for 365 days and in-home care at 44 hours a week.
Which states are the most and least expensive?
The survey publishes ranked state medians for five care types. These are the three most and three least expensive states in each, by monthly median.
In-home caregiver (non-medical)
Most expensive
- Wyoming — $8,771 a month
- Vermont — $8,580 a month
- Washington — $8,580 a month
Least expensive
- Mississippi — $4,576 a month
- Arkansas — $4,767 a month
- Louisiana — $4,957 a month
Adult day health care
Most expensive
- Montana — $5,783 a month
- North Dakota — $5,525 a month
- Washington — $5,395 a month
Least expensive
- Alabama — $1,246 a month
- Mississippi — $1,365 a month
- Rhode Island — $1,408 a month
Assisted living community
Most expensive
- Hawaii — $12,096 a month
- Alaska — $9,882 a month
- Massachusetts — $9,600 a month
Least expensive
- Mississippi — $4,369 a month
- Alabama — $4,425 a month
- Arkansas — $4,637 a month
Nursing home — semi-private room
Most expensive
- Alaska — $27,831 a month
- Oregon — $16,760 a month
- New York — $15,528 a month
Least expensive
- Texas — $5,627 a month
- Missouri — $6,741 a month
- Oklahoma — $7,026 a month
Nursing home — private room
Most expensive
- Oregon — $18,448 a month
- Connecticut — $16,729 a month
- New York — $16,729 a month
Least expensive
- Texas — $7,604 a month
- Missouri — $7,604 a month
- Oklahoma — $7,756 a month
Publisher: CareScout, Cost of Care Survey — ranked median costs by state (fieldwork July through November 2025). States the survey marks N/A are omitted. For a full breakdown of one state, see the in-home care and nursing home pages.
Advertisement
How many people need this care
- 55.8 million people in the United States were age 65 or over at the 2020 Census.
- Americans age 65 and over (2020 Census) — U.S. Census Bureau, May 25, 2023. View the source. Quoted from: “The U.S. population age 65 and over grew from 2010 to 2020 at fastest rate since 1880 to 1890 and reached 55.8 million, a 38.6% increase in just 10 years.”
- One in six people in the United States was age 65 or over in 2020.
- Share of the population age 65 and over (2020 Census) — U.S. Census Bureau, May 25, 2023. View the source. Quoted from: “1 in 6 People in the United States Were 65 and Over”
- About 10,000 people a day have crossed the age-65 threshold since 2010.
- People turning 65 every day — U.S. Census Bureau, December 10, 2019. View the source. Quoted from: “Since then, about 10,000 a day have crossed that age threshold”
- By 2030, every surviving baby boomer will be at least age 65.
- Baby boomers reaching 65 — U.S. Census Bureau, December 10, 2019. View the source. Quoted from: “by 2030, all boomers will be at least age 65”
- The U.S. median age passed 39 in 2024 and reached 39.1.
- U.S. median age — U.S. Census Bureau, June 26, 2025. View the source. Quoted from: “was higher than the national median of 39.1”
What the country spends
- U.S. health spending reached $5.3 trillion in 2024 — $15,474 per person, or 18.0% of GDP.
- National health spending, 2024 — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2024 National Health Expenditure Accounts. View the source. Quoted from: “NHE grew 7.2% to $5.3 trillion in 2024, or $15,474 per person, and accounted for 18.0% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
- Medicare spending grew 7.8% to $1,118.0 billion in 2024 — 21% of all U.S. health spending.
- Medicare spending, 2024 — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2024 National Health Expenditure Accounts. View the source. Quoted from: “Medicare spending grew 7.8% to $1,118.0 billion in 2024, or 21 percent of total NHE.”
- Medicaid spending grew 6.6% to $931.7 billion in 2024 — 18% of all U.S. health spending.
- Medicaid spending, 2024 — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2024 National Health Expenditure Accounts. View the source. Quoted from: “Medicaid spending grew 6.6% to $931.7 billion in 2024, or 18 percent of total NHE.”
- Households paid $556.6 billion out of pocket for health care in 2024 — 11% of all U.S. health spending.
- Out-of-pocket spending, 2024 — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2024 National Health Expenditure Accounts. View the source. Quoted from: “Out of pocket spending grew 5.9% to $556.6 billion in 2024, or 11 percent of total NHE.”
- Health spending is projected to rise from 18.0% of GDP in 2024 to 20.6% by 2034.
- Projected health share of GDP — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Projections 2025–2034. View the source. Quoted from: “an increase in the health spending share of GDP from 18.0 percent in 2024 to 20.6 percent in 2034”
Who pays for long-term care
- Medicare does not pay for long-term custodial care: families cover it from income, savings, insurance or Medicaid.
- Medicare and long-term care — Medicare.gov (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), Page reviewed 2024. View the source. Quoted from: “Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care”
How to cite this page
Copy either line. They are written so a reader can find the page and the original survey from the citation alone.
Plain text
Elder Care Cost Guide. (2026). Elder care cost statistics, 2025: national medians and state tables. Retrieved from https://nursingcost.com/data/care-costs-2025/ — data from CareScout’s Cost of Care Survey (fieldwork July–November 2025). Last updated October 10, 2026.
In-text, for one figure
“…the 2025 national median for a private nursing home room was $10,798 a month (Elder Care Cost Guide, 2026).”
Sources
- CareScout. Cost of Care Survey 2025 — national medians and ranked median costs by state. Fieldwork July through November 2025. View the survey tables (PDF).
- U.S. Census Bureau. Older Population and Aging (2020 Census and Vintage 2025 estimates). census.gov.
- U.S. Census Bureau. By 2030, All Baby Boomers Will Be Age 65 or Older, December 10, 2019.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. National Health Expenditure Fact Sheet, 2024 data. cms.gov.
- Medicare.gov. Long-term care coverage. medicare.gov.
How figures are selected and checked is set out on the methodology page. If a number here disagrees with its source, tell us and it will be corrected.
Put a number to your own situation
A median is a starting point. The care cost calculator turns these rates into a monthly figure for the number of hours or days of care you actually expect, and the cost of care guides explain what each setting includes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I reuse these numbers, and how should I credit them?
Yes — the figures are free to quote and reuse, including commercially. Please credit the site and, where it matters, the underlying survey. The citation block on this page gives a ready-made line you can copy, and each table names its publisher so a reader can trace the number back to the source.
Which survey do the cost figures come from?
Every cost figure is a median published by CareScout's Cost of Care Survey, with a fieldwork window of July–November 2025. The survey reports one national median per care type plus ranked state medians, and this page reproduces both rather than re-deriving them.
Why is Alaska sometimes several times the national median?
Alaska is the survey's most extreme state for facility care, at roughly three times the national median for a semi-private nursing home room. That is what the survey publishes, not an error: a small, remote market with high staffing and transport costs. Treat it as an outlier rather than a typical American price.
Is a state median the price I will be quoted?
No. A median is the midpoint of what providers in that market charge, so half charge more and half charge less, and any single provider can differ substantially. Use these figures to plan and to sanity-check a quote, then confirm with local providers in writing.
Do these figures include medication, therapies or move-in fees?
No. Each figure is the median price of the care setting itself. Medication management, higher care tiers, therapies, transport and one-off community or move-in fees are typically billed on top — ask a provider for its full fee schedule rather than the headline rate.